Tennis legends Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova reflect on rivalry, friendship, cancer diagnoses
Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova had one of the fiercest rivalries in sports history, and now the pair are opening up about the friendship that followed off the court in a new documentary that revisits their years at the top of women's tennis.
The two tennis icons joined "Good Morning America" on Thursday ahead of the release of their new Netflix documentary, "Chris & Martina: The Final Set," out June 26, to discuss the unseen side of their rollercoaster relationship, headline-making doubles competitions, and how cancer diagnoses strengthened their bond.
"We had a 15-year rivalry," Evert said. "Tennis is an individual sport. It's not a team sport. We're like gladiators out there -- so, in the beginning, it was pretty intense and competitive, but toward the middle and the end, we became really good friends."
"That is really rare," she continued, "to have a No. 1 and No. 2 player or athlete in any sport become really, really close."
At one point, Evert recalled, the two were ranked first and second in the world while playing doubles together, practicing together, and traveling together, and their dynamic became complicated.
"All of a sudden, Martina started beating me, and I was like, 'Whoa -- she knows my game better than anyone,'" Evert said, which led to the difficult decision to end their doubles partnership.
After retiring in 1989, the pair's bond deepened off the court. In 2010, Navratilova announced she had been diagnosed with breast cancer but was deemed cancer-free six months later. In 2023, she revealed she had been diagnosed with both throat and breast cancer, which she said were caught early. In June 2023, she wrote on social media that she was cancer-free.
Evert, meanwhile, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2022. The following year, she announced she was cancer-free. She received a second diagnosis just under a year later, revealing she was cancer-free again in July 2024.
"All of a sudden, we retire, and we get cancer at the same time," Evert said of the pair's shared experiences beyond the sport. "That even brought our relationship, our friendship, to another level because of the support and the care that we had for each other."
Navratilova added, "We wanted to again keep raising awareness about cancer and people getting checked out and show that enemies can be friends."
"Chris & Martina: The Final Set" traces the full arc of Navratilova and Evert's relationship from fierce opponents to lifelong friends and supporters and reveals how a rivalry, respect and resilience shaped one of the most influential partnerships in sports.
The film, directed by Rebecca Gitlitz, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City on Wednesday. It will be available to stream on Netflix on June 26.
